what we have here and you can see of course that's what we were talking about earlier but this is the radar from washington. we have tornado warnings posted for washington. just want to show you. right here to the north-northeast this is prince georges and montgomery county in maryland. we had one just in virginia around falls church toward alexandria. that just expiring but this one right now as we're going to look, this is pushing eastward this tornado about 30 to 35 miles per hour, this tornado spotted on doppler radar. what we've seen with this big picture is just incredible, robust atmosphere. atmospherically everyone and everything coming together at the low levels and the upper levels. here's where our tornado watches are. new york, vermont, connecticut, massachusetts, new jersey, all implicated in this. a very strong cold front pushing into this warm, moist, very unstable atmosphere. so here's where these tornado watches are posted. watch meaning that tornadoes are a potential. conditions are right. until about 9:00 and 10:00

tonight. here's where the severe thunderstorm warnings are. look at this line from albany north. all the way from the green and white mountains to the adirondacks here all the way down toward the hudson valley of new york through the catskill mountains. all these storms pushing eastward. south of that and just west of kingston, new york we have and do have a tornado warning posted just for a few more moments as well. here's that washington, d.c. area. thunderstorm warning. here's an incredibly strong storm. could see a few inches of rain with this. these are the same storms that move through the midwest yesterday. 60, 70-mile-per-hour winds. hail an inch in diameter. isolated tornadoes. already one at 11:00 a.m. this morning around queens, new york. here is washington. again, honing in on that. even earlier the gw bridge and heading toward arlington and alexandria. this huge, this red is all just very strong storm pushing east very fast about 45 to 55 miles per hour. farther south, charlotte,

raleigh, north carolina in this muggy air as well. so big picture. boston, new york, washington. today into tonight, fredricka, then it moves through and it is a done deal tomorrow. dry skies. a whole different atmosphere. even temperatures in the 60s. >> oh, my. >> for tomorrow and into monday and tuesday. so a little taste of fall coming in. that's how strong the cold front is. >> wow. that'll feel refreshing but we got to get through today. you talked about washington being in that red zone, parts of washington. look at these live pictures right now of the rain. you can barely see the white house. there were images of the capitol building as well. it's just really coming down. this is the kind of rain, if it carries on for a period of time a big concern for the people in the washington area the big oak trees. you know, those roots get wet. it is a very kind of shallow, rooted tree and often times in big storms like this if it goes on for hours and hours those trees come down. that's when you lead to the power outages, all that. it's a mess.

>> fred, we have had that in pennsylvania, ohio, in new york. trees and power lines down. so we've seen that because, you know, this is really a wind storm as well. so the gusts with this are very strong. >> yeah. >> trees and power lines down 4 inches in diameter. we've had a lot of reports. 50, at least 50 thus far storm reports. >> oh, my. >> a lot of that is the wind and it's all because of the front pushing eastward. this is just the beginning of it. still have a few more hours left until 8:00 or 9:00 tonight. >> very busy. almost all across the entire eastern seaboard. thanks so much from the mid-atlantic all the way up north. thanks so much. all right. on the campaign trail president obama hitting the ground today running in florida. this hour he'll be speaking in kissimmee just south of orlando. earlier today the president held a rally at a college in st. petersburg right near tampa. he repeated the message he gave at the democratic national convention that he needs more time to make his plan work. >> i won't pretend the path i'm

offering is quick or that it's going to be easy. i never -- sometimes i ask people to go back to 2008 and look at what i said. i said this was going to take some time because these problems had been building up for a long time. bill clinton reminded us on wednesday night it's going to take more than a few years to solve challenges that have been built up for decades. >> meantime his challenger mitt romney making his first campaign stop in another battleground state, virginia. he held a rally at the military aviation museum in virginia beach. romney taking aim at the controversy over the reference to god in the democrats' platform. >> that pledge says under god. i will not take god on to the name of our platform.

i will not take god off our coins and i will not take god out of my heart. we're a nation bestowed by god. >> all right. coming up, tonight at 10:00 eastern time don lemon holding the democrats accountable. he'll be talking to democratic national committee chair debby wassermann schultz. she has come under fire recently for that comment on god. mitt romney's abortion stance and even israel. she'll be joining don to set the record straight tonight 10:00 p.m. eastern time. and you can get an up close, personal look at the two men vying for that white house position. find out what barack obama and mitt romney are really like tomorrow night beginning 8:00 p.m. when we profile the republican presidential nominee in "romney revealed, family, faith, and the road to power" followed at 9:30 p.m. eastern time. obama revealed. the man, the president right here on cnn. it's a murder mystery that

has police from paris to london trying to figure out. the parents are dead but two children narrowly survived. 4g lte has the fastest speeds. so let's talk about coverage. based on this chart, who would you choose ? wow. you guys take a minute. verizon, hands down. i'm going to show you guys another chart. pretty obvious. i don't think color matters. pretty obvious. what's pretty obvious about it ? that verizon has the coverage. verizon. verizon. we're going to go to another chart. it doesn't really matter how you present it. it doesn't matter how you present it. verizon. more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing.

what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners. suspended no more, some nfl players get to take to the field again. our great legal minds are with us. avery, richard, you all see this differently. richard, you say someone here got sacked.

>> someone got sacked and sidelined. can you say ♪ oh, when the saints come marching in ♪ they're back on the field this weekend, fred. >> avery, how did this come to be? >> well, i think it's fantastic. just before game day sunday, wow, fredricka. it happened because a three-member panel said that the commissioner isn't the king. and how they got there is really an interesting legal resolution. that's coming up. >> excellent. our legal guys tackle this one after this. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy --

a look at some of the stories around the world now, a murder mystery has police from paris to london trying to solve it. four people killed in the french alps were shot to death. two british parents were among the dead but their two young children managed to survive though one severely wounded from a gun shot wound. in afghanistan the taliban says they're responsible for a suicide bombing that killed six civilians including some children. the bombing was near the headquarters of the international security assistance force. and the 14-year-old girl accused of blasphemy in pakistan is now out on $10,000 bail. authorities charged the girl seen here under a veil after burnt pages containing verses from the koran were allegedly found in her bag. her defense is arguing a neighborhood cleric planted evidence against her. lynerd skynerd has been cranking out classic country

rock for decades now. face to face with some band members you'll hear how they still find passion and inspiration for their music. tomorrow dr. sanjay gupta looks at an offshore fish farm on the show "the next list." dr. sanjay profiles brian o'hanlon president and founder of ocean blue. >> can you just tell us where we are right now? >> we're flying over some jungle here, which is covering a mountain chain. that is panama. i mean, panama is essentially this string of mountains that comes running down from as far as north america. pretty much untouched part of country here. i think you do find some indian tribes in the jungles here but other than that there's no infrastructure, no development at all. >> how did you decide how far

that -- to put out the farms? >> you see how far out the farm is. we're 12 kilometers off the coast. this is really like the new definition of offshore farming. from land we're pretty much over the horizon. it's very deep water out here, about 220 feet deep. >> wow. pretty extraordinary. tune in tomorrow to watch "the next list" or set your dvr for 2:00 p.m. eastern time. then tomorrow 2:30 eastern time i'll be talking to pro tennis player sloan stevens up and coming. we'll be talking about the u.s. open and what's next for her. [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity... to drive a car filled with as much advanced technology as the world around it. with the available lexus enform app suite,

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big legal win for four nfl players making them eligible to play this weekend. earlier i spoke to our legal guys about the decision. nfl commissioner roger goodell suspended the players in an alleged scheme that paid players for big hits against key opponents. those suspensions were overturned by an nfl arbitration panel but the coaches and a gm who were suspended remain out of the game so because this was a collective bargaining process it puts the players' lawsuits up against the commissioner on hold. okay. richard, this is very complicated. how did this come to be that the suspensions were overturned by this arbitration or appeals panel? >> because the players were allowed pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement to take this level of appeal and the arbitrators ruled that the commissioner exceeded his authority. he did not have the power to be judge, jury, and executioner, which is what he was in this

case. he got spanked and he got sacked, clearly, fred, and these players are -- he'll be on the field this weekend if he is healthy enough. >> if he is injured he may not. but will smith the defensive end apparently might. right? >> and the coaches should -- in the spirit of this decision and in good faith, the coaches should be reinstated as well right now. >> that's what i was wondering. >> no. >> if some are reinstated or the suspensions are overturned meaning the players why wouldn't the coaches and the gm be allowed to continue on with the game or be involved? >> right. it's a different -- with the players it's a collective bargaining agreement and it was pretty obvious that commissioner goodell is not the king. he's merely the commissioner. and the three-person panel, two retired federal judges and a georgetown professor said, you know what? you can make a recommendation. that's about it. i got to tell you, fredricka. this case isn't over.

because if the special master recommends to the commissioner that there is to be punishment, we don't know what's going to happen here. yeah, they're reinstated but we don't know what's going to happen ultimately. it's going to go back to the commissioner. so this case is really far from over. it's great for sunday. you got some of those players back on the field. but this case has got a long way to go before we're done with it. >> all right. not long after this decision you know player john that villma did express his emotion on twitter saying victory is mine. and then here's a roman harper, for now, then here's roman harper and what he had to say to television cameras. >> you know, after this season nothing surprises me. there is no crazy. it is just what it is. we can continue to go on about our days and work as we always do and, you know, whatever happens, happens. >> okay. so anything could happen, still. but what does this say about the whole plot of, you know, bounty?

>> what it says, fred, is there was insufficient evidence, or insufficient or specious evidence and flimsy. >> that's not the ruling. >> not good enough evidence for the commissioner to make this determination. he had nothing and maid it based on nothing. >> there is nothing -- i don't agree, fredricka. there is nothing in this opinion that talks about the evidence. they merely said, this three-person panel, that procedurally the commissioner has no authority. it goes back to the special master. that's why i say it's not over because ultimately i do agree they'll have to look at what standard of evidence, which had nothing to do with this ruling, and that's what's on the horizon. that's why i say this case is far from over. >> all right. you can catch our legal guys every saturday beginning at noon eastern time. all right. lynerd skynerd best known for hits like "sweet home alabama" and "free bird" and "what's your name" face to face with some of the band members who tell us why

they stopped using the confederate flag as an iconic part of the band's image. just a reminder, continue to watch cnn from your mobile phone and watch cnn live from your desk top. just go to cnn.com/tv. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism.

tree "sweet home alabama" and "free bird" are among signature tunes for lynerd skynerd now touring with a new album "last of a dying breed" they remain steeped in tradition but are proud to boast they have evolved a lot in their lyrics, style, and image. i talked to them face to face. how do you come up with this compilation? you know, last of a dying breed, something to live for, kind of mellow. you got chorus in there but then you take a turn and you got

life's twisted. ♪ life's twisted like that >> well, we all write together. john and ricky and i. we get -- sometimes we get cowriters that we know throughout our careers and get with them and write. but we just kind of talk about the stories that we lived through or happened to people we know or us and there's a lot of news out there if you watch the news. here in the business you know. but we just kind of write about what's going on and the new stuff here, the dying breed part is because all southern rock 'n roll and musicians there's only a few bands left nowadays that from all that. there used to be a whole lot of them and it's kind of a dying breed because it's more pop stars. >> how do you all keep it pure, keep it i guess rooted in its original intent of what you have been known to be as the father of the southern rock? ♪ sweet home alabama

>> i think that gary, johnny, and myself when we write, i think we try to write honest, you know, about what we feel in our heart. and what maybe we believe in and life's experiences. you know, that we get next to that's really close to us and with this new cd, i think we wrote about stuff that's really important to us, you know, ready to fly is a song about losing a loved one, losing your mother and, you know, she was ready to go on and wanted to see her son one last time. and things that really touch us because we've lost our moms and, you know, real life things. you know? ♪ i'm ready to fly i want to see you again ♪ >> it must be exciting and feel good to be on tour. you talk to so many -- i talk to so many artists who say they feel most comfortable when onstage.

you know, they really come alive. >> that's the easy part i think for us, yeah. doing everything else is the hard part. >> just looking at the thousands of people. it's not nerve-racking. >> it's a gift we've been given. i think the reason this band has been around so many years is we speak for our fans. we speak for ourselves. >> you all very much underscore tradition. there are real main stays in your music, in your look, in your sound. something that was associated with your band for a very long time, the confederate flag whether on your album covers or the back drop, we don't see that anymore. at what point did you make a decision to lose that or what was the evolution of that? >> it became such an issue, you know, about race and stuff where we just had it, in the beginning, because we were southern. and that was our image back in the 70s and late 60s because they kind of branded us from being from the south so we showed that.

but i think through the years, you know, people like the kkk and skinheads and people have kind of kidnapped the dixie rebel flag from the southern tradition and the heritage of the soldiers. that's what it was about. and they kind of made it look bad in certain ways. so we didn't want that to go to our fans or show the image like we agreed with any of the race stuff or any of the bad things. >> if nothing else we grew up loving old blues artists and ray charles, you know. so, you know, we just didn't want to be associated with that particular thing. >> we love our country. we love people. i mean, we love music. we love all different kinds of music. i have a 10-year-old. she turns me on to a lot of different things we're proud to be american. that's what we wanted to show our american flag, made in america you know. >> the band's guitarist, when he

gets inducted into the georgia music hall of fame next month. then lynerd skynerd, they're heading to the uk to continue their tour. all right. a brutal storm has postponed part of the u.s. open finals and it's knocked out power to homes already. we're following the storms and the threat of more tornadoes in the northeast. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief, i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. if you want to make a difference, you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i am committed to making a difference, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now.

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try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. the northeast is getting slammed by severe weather right now. this tornado touched down in new york a short time ago in queens and the threat of more tornadoes is still out there until 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight. we're told 275 homes are without power as a result of brutal storm. the u.s. open tennis, women's finals, it was supposed to happen tonight but that has been

rescheduled until tomorrow because of the weather. on to politics. on the campaign trail president barack obama hitting the ground running in florida today. he is expected to start speaking in kissimmee just south of orlando any minute now. earlier today the president held a rally at a college in st. petersburg near tampa. he repeated the message that he gave at the democratic national convention that he needs more time to take his plan work. mitt romney making campaign stops today in another battleground state of virginia. he held a rally this afternoon at the military aviation museum in virginia beach. romney took aim at the controversy over the reference to god in the democrats' platform. on to california now. a father accused of abducting his two young children and running away with them on a stolen sail boat is now in custody. authorities say 43-year-old christopher amafe abducted his children from their mother's san francisco home and allegedly sailed away with them on a